Lawyer Rod Tongo emerged as the April champion of the Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (Datba) monthly finals tournament held recently at the SM Lanang bowling center.
Tongo, who had the twice-to-beat advantage in the finals, defeated challenger Mav Manuel, 209-165, to clinch the monthly title and earn a spot in the 2024 Bowler of the Year grand championship. He also received a cash prize of P7,000 and a trophy.
Manuel, for his part, settled for the P5,000 runner-up prize.
Tongo earlier topped the six-game, 12-player qualifying with a total of 1,222 pinfalls, outshining Digos City lawyer Marc Fernandez (1,201), Manuel (1,180) and Ivan Awid (1,176).
In the one-game shootout, Manuel toppled 207 pins over Fernandez (200) and Awid (171) to arrange a title showdown with Tongo.
Third-placer Fernandez received P3,000, while Awid got P2,000.
The other special awardees were Kim Salvador (669) as the top qualifier, Jesrael Rule (268) with the highest game qualifying, and Awid (235) for the highest game finals. MLSA